School shootings have always been a major concern in this country and numerous measures have been adopted to reduce their occurrences and harm. Legislations have been enacted to restrict access to firearms and security systems have been installed to record emergency situations and notify safety authorities. Given the increased number of shootings and death toll in the recent years, however, it appears that these measures are inadequate. Individuals can still purchase a gun from the black market or steal it from a legal owner, and current security systems are not capable of providing live information of an emergency situation directly to those nearby so that they can evacuate promptly and safely.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 8,305,211 to Morris et al. (“Morris”) discloses a surveillance system comprising a security installation having video cameras and door locks securing an institutional building and a peer interface connected to a plurality of peer installations, each of which is connected to a corresponding aid provider such as a police station, fire department, or hospital. Upon determination of an exigent situation, the peer interface of the security installation selects the proper peer installation that allows the corresponding aid provider to watch the live exigent situation and provide assistance, such as making announcements for directing existing crowds away from the exigent situation or locking doors to prevent perpetrators from causing harm. As such, this system is deficient in that it requires awaiting safety instructions from the aid provider as the crowds do not have firsthand information of the exigent situation and they would not be able to execute self-help or take actions they deem appropriate. Moreover, broadcasting safety instructions in the place where both the assailant and the crowds are located is not practical as the assailant may follow the instructions to the area where the crowds congregate or exit to cause more harm.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,116,224 to Mickler (“Mickler”) discloses an alarm ready portable case for securing a firearm that may be utilized in conjunction with a pre-existing security system. With authorized access, a person can remove the gun in the case and use it as a defensive weapon. If unauthorized access is determined, the case would sound an alarm. Mickler, like Morris, does not have the ability to provide firsthand information of an exigent situation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,416,272 to Torii (“Torii”) discloses a similar firearm case but lacks the same ability.
In yet another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,965,541 to Lapin et al. (“Lapin”) discloses a gunshot digital imaging system comprising an acoustic sensor for detecting a gun shot or explosion and a camera for recording images of the area of the gun shot or explosion. When a gun shot or explosion is detected by the acoustic sensor, the camera is slew toward the area of the gun shot or explosion to record images of that area. While this system can record images of an emergency situation, it is not designed to transmit the recorded emergency images to those nearby to provide live information of the situation. In addition, this system cannot be used to record an emergency situation that does not involve either a gun shot or explosion.
Accordingly, there remains a need for an improved security system that overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art and that provides real time advanced warnings to individuals located nearby an emergency situation.